Parity is the theme throughout the women’s sprint field, and with that a crop of breakout stars will emerge this weekend at NCAAs. 

Here’s what to watch in Birmingham in the women’s fastest events:

Women’s 60m - A Crowded Field Is Led By LSU’s Kortnei Johnson

By virtue of her SEC win and a position atop the 60m leaderboard, LSU senior Kortnei Johnson is somewhat of a default favorite at NCAAs, but with six women seeded between 7.14 and 7.20 she’s no sure thing either.

The best case to be made for Johnson-- who was seventh in the 60m final in 2018-- is that she seems to be peaking at the right time. After losing to fellow contenders Kiara Parker of Arkansas and UNLV’s Destiny Smith-Barnett in consecutive weeks in late January and early February, Johnson has not lost to collegiate competition in three weeks since. In fact, she nearly beat former Tiger and NCAA 60m record holder Aleia Hobbs on Feb. 15 when she ran her 7.14 best.

Speaking of Smith-Barnett, she too is streaking heading into nationals-- the UNLV senior is the lone athlete in the field who has yet to lose a 60m race all season. She’ll carry that momentum into Birmingham after dominating Mountain West in 7.15.

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Outside of the six women who have run 7.20 or faster this season-- Johnson, Parker, Smith-Barnett, USC’s Twanisha Terry, LSU’s Sha’Carri Richardson and Colorado State’s MaryBeth Sant-- one sleeper to watch is Texas senior Teahna Daniels (7.11 PB from 2016). Daniels has been inconsistent throughout her collegiate career due to injuries, but her win at Big 12 (7.22) showed that the uber talent is rounding into form. Don’t forget, she won the NCAA 60m title three years ago in Birmingham as just a freshman.

Women’s 200m - Trio Of NCAA 200m Newcomers Face Old Guard

The 200m is yet another event on the women’s side where it’s difficult to pinpoint a favorite. Nine women have marks between the NCAA-leading 22.80 and 23.00, while only 13th seed Kortnei Johnson (23.08 SB) returns from last year’s final in College Station. To throw more chaos into the event, among the three athletes with the fastest times so far in 2019-- Ohio State’s Anavia Battle, North Carolina A&T’s Kayla White and Kynnedy Flannel of Texas-- only White has prior NCAA Championship experience, although not in the 200m.

But what the aforementioned trio lack in experience they make up for in recent success. 

Battle ran the 22.80 NCAA leader two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships in her first ever sub-23 indoor performance. Her accompanying 7.28 PB in the conference 60m shows her speed is better than ever right now.

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White tallied a slew of NCAA contender scalps when she ran 22.82 at Arkansas in mid-February, beating the likes of 2019 SEC champ Tamara Clark and runner-up Payton Chadwick, while posting a much quicker time than 2018 NCAA outdoor champ Angie Annelus, who ran in a separate heat.

Flannel has shown remarkable consistency for a true freshman. The Texas sprinter followed up her eye-popping 22.88 from mid-January with two more sub-23 times, including a 22.89 win in the Big 12 final. 

Of course, the experience factor matters, and in that regard athletes like Annelus, Clark and Chadwick should all make a push for the title. Annelus sent notice to the newcomers with her 22.83 on Feb. 15 (altitude-converted to 22.90) that she is trending in the right direction, while Clark and Chadwick have 22.9 performances to their credit this season as well.

Women’s 400m - After Slow Start To 2019, Georgia’s Lynna Irby Has Title In Sight

In the wake of a spectacular freshman campaign that culminated in a 49.80 (#2 NCAA all-time) victory at NCAA outdoor, Georgia’s Lynna Irby was expected to dominate out of the gates in 2019. Instead, the four-time All-American began the season in somewhat of a sophomore slump; Irby, who was third in the 2018 NCAA 200m indoor and outdoor, was defeated handily in her 200m season opener by Texas freshman Kynnedy Flannel, 22.88 to 23.27. She only improved marginally in her next 200m, and did not qualify for the distance at NCAAs.

However, Irby finally appears to moving in the right direction. She didn’t make her 400m debut until SECs, but it went well enough-- a victory and NCAA-leading 52.02-- to suggest that she’s the odds-on favorite this weekend. Irby clearly isn’t operating with the same level of fitness that saw her run 50.62 at SECs in 2018, but in a down season for the women’s 400m it’s possible that she could run 51-mid and still win the title.

Congratulations on punching your ticket to the #NCAATF!

Lynna Irby opened in the 400m at the #SECITF19 & left with the #NCAA’s leading time of 52.02. #GoDawgs #FindYourGreatness pic.twitter.com/sfNVMasjil

— Georgia Track&Field (@UGATrack) February 27, 2019

Even though Irby has the pedigree and top time to stand out from the pack, a trio of fast-ascending athletes not far off the Georgia star’s mark each have the potential to breakout in Birmingham. USC’s Kyra Constantine cut nearly three-quarters of a second off her indoor PB with a 52.07 victory at MPSF, while Texas A&M sophomore Syaira Richardson (52.09) and Penn State freshman Alexis Holmes (52.14) each lopped off similar chunks with their performances at SECs and Big Ten, respectively. 

If Irby falters, any one of those three women could win with a big day on Saturday.

Women’s 60m Hurdles - Arkansas’ Payton Chadwick Goes For Repeat Against Experienced Field

Six of the eight finalists from the 2018 NCAA 60m hurdles final return for the 2019 edition, including defending champion Payton Chadwick of Arkansas. However, not one of the six owns the country’s fastest time this year-- that belongs to USC’s Chanel Brissett at 7.90-- so here’s yet another women’s event that has no clear-cut favorite.

Just a sophomore, Brissett has never made an NCAA final, but she will bring an undefeated hurdles season into Birmingham, including a 3-0 record this season head-to-head against teammate and last year’s NCAA runner-up Anna Cockrell. Brissett also defeated Chadwick when they matched up at the Tyson Invitational on Feb. 9.

Along with Brissett and Chadwick, Arkansas’ Janeek Brown and Miami’s Tiara McMinn are the other women to break 8.00 in 2019. Brissett is on a roll and Chadwick is the defending champ, but Brown and McMinn could steal a title if both women falter.

Women’s 4x400m - An All-SEC Fast Heat Should Decide The Champ

Texas A&M, South Carolina, Florida and Arkansas-- they all ran 3:29 at SECs and thus will get a sequel to their conference race in the fast heat at NCAAs. The Aggies enter as the top dogs with their 3:29.15 victory two weeks ago, but they are not impenetrable. A&M was defeated in late January by a USC squad that didn’t crack the top four this season.

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The Trojans might have been co-favorites had they made the fast heat-- USC also beat Arkansas and Florida in 2019-- but as it is they will be forced to post a fast mark all alone in a ‘B’ heat in which the second-fastest seed is more than 1.5 seconds slower than them.

A win at SECs is always a good indication of a 4x400m team’s chances at NCAAs, so Texas A&M clearly has the pole position. Not that they won’t be watching the clock to see what sort of time USC can put down in the slower section.